Piercing and tapping device for fluid filled film containers



Feb. 16, 1960 J. w. BROOKSHIER 2,925,199

PIERCING AND TAPPING DEVICE FOR FLUID FILLED FILM CONTAINERS Filed April 18, 1956 Ira/e11 A .James LU. Enrol .9 hgle n acin: t p- United States Patent n 2925 3 :LIERGING mar gs nar cnimanwia Emma c renas I Manama 1 a 25a, 5 9 91; a a tam-21 Jane handling of theplastic film bags;

' 'Liquid' foods,such-as-outlinedapove, have been transported and stored in'metal 'andzgl'ass containers former years; 1 The handling costs; attendant to the use f-Sllq -containers hasi' forced the. development of disposahle,

lighter weight containers, usually rn'ade from, paperderiva'fives; 'The paper c'ont'ainerghowever; sufier from; size limitationsand' ailack of adequate pouring or dispensing lfaeilitie sr As the units become progressively larger, they the filmVcontaineras well *asyfacilitati h pp n a invariably lbecorhe much "more difficult to handle and require auxiliarydispensing equipment. Such] dispensing equipment,- a's'well" as the containers','often run afoul of health andpur'efood regulationsf With the 'foregoing in mind; it is the general object of thepresent' inventionto'provide a sanitary and inexp'ensive way for dispensingdiquids from plastic film fiags lious'ed' w-ithin corrugated onother rigid; disposable containers.

-"""'Another object of the invention is to furnish a liquid container and dispenser which minimizes the arnount of iiiaterialrequiredfor both thecoiitainer and the dispenser f Furthn'objeds and advantages of the present inventi onfwitl be conieapparentas th'e followingadescription of anillustrat ive' embfodiment proceeds, taken in conjunction with the 'a'ccompanytin'g. illustrative rdrawings are 1 illustrates in perspective view a typical con- ;ta er'dispenTsingfldid with a:mechanism'rilldstrative of th invention? i Fig; Zis" an enlarged" pa tia sectional view .in front elevation illustrating the first step'in the sequence-of gapian a c ntainerwith a piercing tap illustrative of'the 6 a seetiahqiatreht atevatihh of the 7 3% an end assembled viewot the piercing tap cltin'gnut: t

or-i ti nvironment, the presenti. nvention fequires a tS be packaged in aplastic filmicontaiheij siich as a polyethylene bag. $ince it impractical to transport .r H .t

ofat-hedaces. Qt therrespectivewth ead oiythe loeltmgnut Patented Feb. 16, 1960 2 uc flui ed Pol et lene or Other fi b s y are housed in containers, usually of the disposable variety formed frjontcorru'gated hoard, Such alunit is shown in Fig, lwhe 're it w; ,be seen that the fiuidpackage 10 is rnade up'of an outer container 11 and an inside bag 12 formed of a flexible plastic. In order to ready the ide fi m h g Re er,- app ngz a tea fl p 14 is provided on e' u si e of the .car' o 'll wh c exp ses a appin arealfi. V

The unique tapping device 20 contemplate only two elemen s; Pi ci ten 2 and. a leck 2 efo Q lin 's he d ta s Q 'QQn trwtim f t e t a ie at th n n o h i i l be helpful in appre a h the. treeisec nsttu 9 1-.

hen he l e first receive the epa a nerlfl h tears op n the fl p. 1. o ing, h itc pi r ng ar a 15- The ex l j e an i ised n' p n to ne t he that has .1 a i lustra d in Fi 2- The P rc tan s han hru ttorwar sh nt it penetrates the il of t bag 12 s ll at te i Pie,- 3 The P r of the filrn 1d which is torn is thrust inwardly, and the weightof the fluid 18 pressing down upon the flaps 16 and holding them insealed relationship with the piercing tap 2 1, 1 Then, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the piercing tap 21" is withdrawn front the bag 12 and the film flaps 16 are reversed in their contact relationship with the piercing tap'21; Thereafter, the locking nut is threaded forwardly against the flaps 16 thereby sealingly jamming the'film at theinterface between the threaded elements of the locking nut "22 and piercing tap' 21.

Subsequently a drain tube 19 may be threaded to the outer portion of the piercing tap 21 and the contents of the container 10 drained in a conventional manner.

details of the piercing tap 21 are best illustrated in 6. There it will be seen that the piercing tap has a pointed nose "portion 24 which terminates in a sharp point 25,. Along the cylindrical body portion of the piercing tap 21 are a plurality of threads 28, a modified square thread being shown'in the present instance. The

pointed nose portion 24 may be affixed to the end of the threaded piercing tap after the locking nut 22 has beenthreaded onto' the body portion, or it may be formed integrally with the body portion in which case the threads 28permit the locking nut to be threaded from the pointed ,end of the piercing tap. However, in either case, the portion of the body between the locking nutin its position on the threaded body mostrernote from the pointed end is free oi any structure which projects outwardly beyond the rnajor 'diarneter of the threads formed on the cylindrical body to prevent over-enlargement of the puncture produced in the wall 1 2. The rear cylindrical portion29otjhepiercingtap hasa single roundcd thread 0 whi h elhdine eaeaeesv he inne P i f h d nthh ?-j ow, he 1 ext nd t r u h, h m i dy P tion of t e derai eur P'Q i l 2 n s. ed. by a tran verse rest h ad. bor As w l b en n, Fi hefircss tad. w 32 is fed by flu d ahdhth n e flui dIains h Quehm h ow e t portion31 of the piercing t ap'2 1 Variousalternative ch nne rel t onshi s a wntemnlat d, b t l within the t fi t f the invention hen hey er the urpqs of'd e h hg he hidffrhm. the fi m bae- Ihe ckin h rl; i annular i ha a th wi h int rna thr ds epctt oa d e mite w pie i an 2 as? h wahest t! B glw ll he. n dll h the el tiea hip ve e lae h hu hre s 34 and th p he=tn hread Zfimu t pro i e s fli ient play s that the flap portion 16 of theplastie film container 12 may -be ianimin rjeng cd he e opposed rt 22 and piercing tap 21.

" I clairn as my invention:

A piercing and tapping device for drawing olf aaa 1 flllld from within a plastic film cOntainer- 'co nprising"an Man-J99 T "The construction of the piercing tap and locking nut are such that the drain tube 19 may be threaded in place over the smooth body portion 29 of the piercing tap 21 and held in place by the single thread 30 thereon. Then the operator can pierce the plastic film bag 12 by holding the outer portion of the drain tube 19 in one hand and the locking nut 22 in the other, it not being necessary to touch the piercing point 24 or any other portion of the piercing tap 21 which comes in contact with the fluid 18. After the piercing tap has been withdrawn to the station as shown in Fig. 4, the locking nut 22 is threaded down into place jammingly sealing the film fiap 16 to the tapping assembly. Althoughthe operators hands may grasp the outer portion of the locking nut 22, there still is no contact with the fluid which is thereafter dispensed through' the pointed piercing head 24and hollow central portion 31 and thereafter into the drain tube 19. The foregoing structural description will be more fully understood in the light of the action which takes place 7 when the plastic film container is pierced. The piercing .head 24 is thrust through the film 12 as shown sequentially in Figs. 2 and 3. This ruptures the film, creating i'a resultant hole somewhat smaller than the 'actual size necessary to admit the insertion of the body portion 21.

Since the plastic film has no grain the size of the hole does not enlarge. On the contrary, the size of the hole tends to remain smaller than the rootdiarneter of, the

threaded body portion .of the tapping device. This seeming paradox is attributable tothe inherent elasticity of ;the plastic membranelZ As thedevice is thrust inwardly,ia small flap portion: 16 is developed, but due to the contraction of the portion, it eife'cts temporary:

seal with thethreads.

The purpose of the.insertionbeyondthepoint necessary is to insure that the plastic film is disposed in a tubular form around the externalthreads of the body.

reverses and assumes a tubular form on the outside of the external threadsof thev body. a The film'vflap 16 then becomes an obstruction to the threading of the locking threads 28., is such as to permit the matinglof. the thread interfaces 'while simultaneously locking the film flap 16 between-thethreadsQ Each thread thereby becomes a seal. i

Although the container 10 illustrated has beentapped from a side portion, it will beappreciatedthat it. can ben appedlfrom any. face. In' additionfitis-possible to drop a plastic film bagi into ametalcontainen the bottom terriplated by the invention.

By employing the unique mechanism for' draining fluidfilled containers, the containers may be housed in a cooler and the tapping drainhose extended to'drain the contents to a remote location.

been shown and described in full here, there is no intention to thereby limitfthe invention to the details of such embodiments. On the contrary,.;the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative embodiments, usages and equivalents orjtne piercing and tapping device for fluid 'filledlfilm containers as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention, specification, and appended'claim s'g f which is formed to accommodate thepiercing tap-con-i I Then, when the tapping device is purposely partially;- withdrawn, the film flap, still adhering to the threads,

3 nut 22 as shown inFig. 4. .The clearance provided 'be-r tween the interfaces of the nut threads, 34 and the body therethrough, a tapered head terminating in a relatively sharp point at one end of the elongated body, said elongated body including a cylindrical portion adjacent said tapered head, threads formed on said cylindrical portion, and a closure element having a threaded hole therethrough which. is free of threads at the end nearest the tapered head, the closure'elernent being loosely threaded on said threaded portion of the body so as to provide a clearance between the closure elementand the body while still maintaininga threaded coupling therebetween, the major diameter of the threaded portion of the body being the largest diameter of the piercing and tapping device between the pointed end and the closure element in its position most remote from the pointed end, the pointed end of the piercing and tapping device serving to puncture and penetrate the plastic film container when thrust therethrough, the portion of the plastic film container surrounding the threaded portion of the body formingan internal neck within the container which frictionally engages the said threaded portion, so that when the piercing and tapping device is partially withdrawn, the internal neck is reversed, forming an'external neck 'surrounding the said threaded portion, the threadless end of the hole of the closure element facilitating the thread ing of the closure element onto the external neck of the container, the mating threads of the body and the closure element being proportioned to form a tight. fitting engagement when the neck is interposed therebetween' to establish a seal between the underfaces of the closure. element and the threaded body; "i l t e 2..'A piercing and'tapping' device fordrawing .otfa .fluid 'from within a plastic film container comprising an element and the body while still-maintaining a threaded e V I V H In large dairies,- ice cream factories, restaurants, and many other establish- .at the same time ensuring adequatesanitary precautions coupling therebetween, the major diameter of the threaded portion of the body being the largest diameter of the piercing and tapping device between the pointed end and the closure element inits position most remote from the pointed end, the pointed .end of the piercing and. tapping device serving to puncture andpenetratethe plastic film container when thrust-therethrough,; the portion-of the piastic film container surrounding the threaded portion.

of the body forming'an internal neck within the container which 'frictionally :engages the-said threaded portion, so that when the piercing and tapping device is .pa rt ially withdrawn, the internalineck is reversed, forming-an ex ternal neck surrounding the said threadedportion, the enlarged end of the hole of the closure element assisting in feeding the external neck of the container betweemthe loosely mating threads of the closure-element and the body, the mating threads of thebody and the closure element being proportioned to form atight fitting engagement when the neck is interposed therebetween to estalr lish a seal between the underfaoes of the closure element and the threaded body.

References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS :JStevens o Aug. 14, 1956 

